Old and accepted Scottish rite

History

Scottish Master Scottish Master

One finds since 1733 the trace of a cabin of Temple Bar, in London, having conferred the degree of Scottish Master (" Scots Master " or " Scotch tape Master "). He was also conferred in a cabin of Bath in 1735 and in the cabin Frenchwoman St George of the Observance n°49 of Covent Garden, in 1736.

The myth of the Jacobite influence

The origin of the myth of the influence Jacobite on the birth of the high ranks could lie in an imprudent remark made by John Noorthouk in 1784 in the book of the Constitutions of the first Big room of London. It was declared there without proof that the king Charles II (older brother and predecessor of James II) was made freemason in Holland during his exile (1649-1660). It is clear today that at that time, there did not exist yet of cabins of freemasons on the continent. This remark aimed certainly at flattering fraternity by the claim of the membership of a former monarch. This legend was clearing by John Robison (1739-1805), professor of philosophy at the University of Edinburgh in an anti-maçonnique work published in 1797.

In the middle of the 19th century, this legend still developed. The famous author maconnic English George Oliver (1782-1867), in her work Historical landmarks even started again and declared that the king Charles II attended the behaviors regularly. This history was taken again by the authors maconnic French Jean-Baptiste Ragon (1771-1862) and Emmanuel Rebold, this last imagining even all parts a creation of the high ranks within the cabin Canongate Kilwinning of Edinburgh.

Etienne Morin and his rite in 25 degrees

A French trader named Etienne Morin, who had been received in the freemasonry of the top-ranks since 1744 founded one Scottish cabin in the French Cape, the north of the colony of Santo Domingo. August 27th, 1761, in Paris, Morin accepted a signed license of the officers of the Big room naming it Large Inspector for all the parts of the world . Later copies of this license, which probably aimed at the origin only the cabins symbolic systems, seem to have been clearings, perhaps by Morin itself, in order to better ensure its preeminence on the cabins of high ranks of the Antilles.

Morin practiced a named rite Rite of the Royal Secrecy in 25 degrees of which highest named itself Sublimate Prince of the Royal Secrecy and which perhaps rose itself from the rite practiced in Paris by The Council of the Emperors of the East and Occident .

Morin turned over to Saint Domingue in 1762 or 1763 and, thanks to its license, gradually constituted cabins of all ranks through the Antilles and North America. It created in particular in 1770 one Great Chapter of its rite with Kingston, Jamaica, where it mourrut in 1771.

Henry Andrew Francken and his manuscripts

The man who helped more Morin to diffuse his rite in the New World was French naturalized Dutch named Henry Andrew Francken. Morin named it Député Large General inspector as of his return to the Antilles. Francken worked in close cooperation with him and, in 1771, wrote a manuscript containing the ritual ones 15th with the 25e degree. It wrote at least two other manuscripts, the first in 1783 and the second about 1786, which contained all the degrees of 4th with the 25e.

A cabin of Perfect of Scotland on April 12th, 1764 at the Orleans News was formed. It was the first workshop of high ranks on the American northern continent. Its existence was short because the Traité of Paris had yielded in 1763 the Orleans News to catholic and hostile Spain to freemasonry: Any maconnic activity seemed to cease at the Orleans News until in the years 1790.

Francken settled in New York in 1767 when it accepted a license, dated December 26th, 1767, for the formation of a cabin of Perfection in Albany which enabled him to confer the degrees of perfection (4th with 14th) for the first time in the thirteen British colonies. This license as well as the minutes of the first work of this cabin are currently in the files of the Supreme Council of the Northern Jurisdiction of the USA.

During its stay in New York, Francken communicated also these degrees with a Jewish business man, Moses Michael Hays, which it named Assistant General inspector ( DIG: Deputy Inspector General ). In 1781, Hays named in its turn 8 other Associated General inspectors, of which four played later a notable part in the foundation of the Scottish Rite old and accepted in South Carolina:

Isaac Da Costa Sr., D.I.G for South Carolina
Abraham Forst, D.I.G for Virginia
Joseph Mr. Myers, D.I.G for Maryland
Barend Mr. Spitzer, D.I.G for Georgia

Da Costa went back to Charleston, South Carolina and establishes one there Sublimate Big room of Perfection in February 1783. With its death, in November 1783, Hays Myers named its successor. Joined by Forst and Spitzer, Myers created eight additional degrees with Charleston.

Birth of the old and accepted Scottish Rite

Although the thirty-three degrees were thus already created, the old and accepted Scottish Rite was made up only with the foundation of the first Supreme Council, the Suprême the Council of the Southern Jurisdiction with Charleston, in May 1801, under the impulse of John Mitchell and Frederic Dalcho.

It is with licenses of this first Supreme Council that all other Supreme Councils of the world were gradually made up, like:

the Supreme Council of the 33e degree in France (exact name of the organization at the time), in 1804
the Supreme Council of the Northern Jurisdiction of the USA, in 1813.
the Supreme Council of England and of Wales, in 1845.

Albert Pike and the REAA in the USA

Born with Boston, in the Massachusetts, on December 29th 1809, Albert Pike is often considered in the USA as being the man who made more for success of the REAA, making it pass from the stage of rather obscure rite maconnic in the middle of the 19th century to the international fraternity which it became. Pike accepted all the ranks of 4th with the 32e of the historian maçonnique one American Albert Mackey in March 1853 in Charleston, South Carolina and the same year was named assistant Inspecteur ( Deputy Inspector ) for the Arkansas.

At that time, the degrees were still in a rudimentary form and generally contained only one short legend accompanied by some details, but generally without true ritual of initiation. In 1855, the Suprême the Council of the Southern Jurisdiction named a committee charged to prepare the ritual complete ones 4th with the 32e degree. This committee was composed of Albert G. Mackey, John H. Honor, W.S. Rockwell, C. Samory and Albert Pike, but it is Albert Pike who made the essence of work.

In March 1858, Pike was elected member of the Supreme Council of the Southern Jurisdiction of the USA and became its Large Commander in January 1859. The American Civil War stopped its work on ritual Scottish Rite. After the war, it left for Washington and in 1868 it completed its work of revision of the ritual ones.

Pike wrote also conferences for all the degrees which it published in 1871 under the title Morales and Dogme of the Scottish Rite old and accepted .

History of the REAA in France

The Old and Accepted Scottish Rite appeared in France thanks to the Brother Fatty-Tilly in 1804, whereas it returned from the “isles of America”. It founded the first Supreme Council of France this same year.

A treaty of Union in December 1804 was done between the Grand the East of France and the Supreme Council of the 33e degree in France. It is known as that the Great East links with him the Supreme Council of France. The agreement in the facts was applied until 1814. It is thanks to this treaty that the Grand the East of France adapted the Old and Accepted Scottish Rite.

From 1805 to 1814 the Grand the East of France managed the first 18 degrees of the Rite, leaving to the Supreme Council of France the care to manage the 15 others, of 19th with the 33e. Little by little the Supreme Council lost its activity and fell in sleep.

In 1815 the majority of the leaders of the Supreme Council left obedience and founded with the Great East of France the Supreme Council of the Rites, thus bringing the Scottish whole of the degrees to the Great East.

The Supreme Council of Isles of America (founded in 1802 by Fatty-Tilly, awaked by Delahogue about 1810) awoke in 1821 the Supreme Council for the 33e degree in France and they amalgamated in only one organization: The the Supreme Council of France. He set up in independent and sovereign maconnic power. He created cabins symbolic systems (those which are made up of the first 3 degrees and which federate normally within a Big room or of the Great East).

In 1894 the Supreme Council of France created the Big room of France; he granted his administrative autonomy to him in 1908. This autonomy exclusively relates to the administration of the obedience which elects its Large Master. The Supreme Council of France preserves a dogmatic authority on all 33 degree of the Rite (It is advisable to note that the Supreme Council of France organizes his behavior of the High Ranks the day before General assembly of Freemasons of the Big room of France)

In 1964 the Sovereign Large Riandey Commander as 800 of the members of the Jurisdiction of the Supreme Council left the Supreme Council of France, joined the French National Big room and founded the Supreme Council For France thanks to the assistance of some Supreme foreign Councils.

The Supreme Council For France since was recognized like only authority of the Scottish Rite for France by the first Supreme Council of the World: The Supreme Council of the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States.

France is thus one of the rare countries where the 3 Supreme legitimate Councils coexist:

the the Supreme Council of France (Resulting from the Supreme Council of 1804 then awaked in 1821 by the Supreme Council known as of the founded “Isles of America” in 1802 in Saint Domingue), stock on the Big room of France.
the Supreme Council for the Scottish Rite Old and Accepted in France (Resulting from the Supreme Council of 1804, made up in 1815), stock on the Great East of France.
the Supreme Council for France (1965), stock on the French National Big room.

Organization

The old and accepted Scottish Rite is directed in each country not the Supreme Council (in theory, there should be one step country of them). There does not exist world government of the REAA, each Supreme Council being sovereign in his jurisdiction.

33 degrees of the REAA

There does not exist in freemasonry of row higher than the third degree, that of master mason. It is one of the basic principles of maconnic regularity that all the master masons are placed on an equal footing, without consideration of social position or membership of other degrees maconnic. This is why the degrees of a number higher than the third must be regarded as improvement or levels of education, and not rank implying a particular capacity and whose a master mason could prevail itself to claim itself higher than the others.

In many countries, the first three degrees can be practiced with another rite that the REAA before the access to the other ranks of this one.

Characteristic of the various jurisdictions

In many jurisdictions, there exist characteristics, generally tiny. They relate to mainly the degrees which are really practiced, the others being simply conferred without particular ceremony.

In England, one practices the 18th degree. The 30e is reserved to the former presidents of chapters. The degrees beyond the 30e are conferred only on one very small number of people.
In Scotland, one practices 18th, 30e degrees. Beyond that, one proceeds as in England.
In France and Belgium, according to the jurisdictions, one practices and one initiates with 4th, 5th, 9th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 18th, 30e, 31e, 32e and 33e degrees, sometimes also with the 5th degree.
With the the United States, the northern jurisdiction reformed its practices in a more notable way in 2004 and in 2006, Certains names of degrees, in particular, was modified rather considerably. In addition, the North-American system is much faster than in other countries, since it makes it possible to reach the 32e degree in very few years whereas in continental Europe for example, such a progression requires an assiduous practice of more than one score of years.

Appendices

References and notes

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